When God told Lot and his family to flee from Sodom, He gave one clear command: “Look not behind thee.” Yet Genesis 19:26 tells us, “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” One backward glance cost her everything. Lot’s wife didn’t turn back to live in Sodom—her body was moving forward, but her heart was still behind her. That single look revealed where her affection truly remained. And her story stands as a timeless warning to each of us about the danger of looking back. For you see, the Christian must look ahead, not behind.
You see, looking back can distract you. Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” A farmer can’t plow a straight line while staring over his shoulder, and neither can a Christian walk a straight path while constantly glancing at the past. Too many believers lose focus because they’re distracted by what used to be—old habits, former relationships or past mistakes. The devil loves to use memories as mirrors, reflecting where we’ve been instead of where God wants to take us.
Looking back can also discourage you. The children of Israel were guilty of this. After being miraculously delivered from slavery, they longed for Egypt. In Exodus 16:3 they said, “Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt.” Can you imagine that? They missed the place that had once held them in bondage. When life gets hard, we too can become nostalgic about the past and start believing the lie that the “good old days” were better. But when you look back, you often remember the pleasure and forget the pain. Looking backward makes yesterday look better than it really was and today worse than it really is.
Looking back can also defeat you. The apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13–14, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul had a past filled with regret—he once persecuted Christians— but he refused to be defined by who he used to be. Many Christians remain defeated because they cannot forgive themselves. They replay old failures that God has already forgiven. But once the blood of Jesus covers your sin, Heaven has no record of it. If God has moved on, so should you.
And finally, looking back can destroy you. Lot’s wife thought it was just a glance, but it cost her life. The same happens spiritually when a believer keeps looking back toward sin—it can destroy their joy, their testimony and their influence. Many marriages crumble because one spouse keeps looking back. Many churches lose their passion because they dwell too long on how things “used to be.” God is not behind us—He’s before us. The Christian life is a forward walk, not a backward one.
The rearview mirror in your car is small for a reason— you’re not meant to drive by it. You glance at it to see where you’ve come from, but you keep your eyes on what’s ahead. Friend, maybe you’re haunted today by something in your past—a broken relationship, a bad decision, a failure you can’t forget. You can’t change yesterday, but you can surrender today and trust God for tomorrow. The past is a place of reference, not residence.
As the old hymn says, “I have decided to follow Jesus—no turning back, no turning back.” Let’s learn from Lot’s wife and move forward in faith. The best days for the child of God aren’t behind us— they’re still ahead.
Jimmy Barrett is a resident of Blackshear and pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Waycross.
